Saving Jade West
by VoltageStone
Summary: It started with a kite and how it was eventually fixed and understood. (Jori) One-Shot -Rated M for Implied Content-


_So, for this one-shot, I was reminded of Mary Poppins. That movie, apparently, was the first one I watched. Anyway, I came up with this idea_ not _watching the Disney classic but 'Saving Mr. Banks.' I would encourage you watch it, it's very good actually. It's about how Mrs. Travers gave Mary Poppins to Disney himself while remembering the story that she based her books off of._

 _Anyway, I decided to quickly write this just because._

 _Like I said, very good movie. I hope you enjoy this_ and _the movie as well._

 _:)_

* * *

 _"_ _Oh, oh, oh!_  
 _Let's go fly a kite_  
 _Up to the highest height!_  
 _Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring_  
 _Up through the atmosphere_  
 _Up where the air is clear_  
 _Oh, let's go fly a kite..."_

 _-Richard & Robert Sherman_

* * *

 ** _Tori's Perspective_ _-_**

My eyes struggle to properly shut for the night, red blaring numbers searing across my thoughts. _'Eleven-thirty two,'_ they dully recall, my legs shifting to a cooler spot under the sheets. I sigh as my head adjusts with my arm under the pillow, my right hanging down to grasp the thin linens that covers the mattress. _'You really need to go to sleep,'_ the voice inside my head banters, forcing my eyes closed again - they merely blink back open.

There's too much that buzzes throughout my skull, and it has become irritating. Nothing in the world would satisfy me more to just sleep these sullen thoughts and look over them in my dreams. I need to sleep and graduation is _tomorrow_.

Still, strong memories plague my thoughts and I can't shake them off to go to sleep...

Goose bumps rapidly crawl along my skin as I shudder, my free hand - which isn't under a pillow and a pound or two, however heavy my noggin is - tugs the covers to my shoulders. For what it was worth, I'm a tad bit warmer. Just a tad though. And as the sheets begin to settle against my bare arms, my head feels like a hive once more, diving me back into my subconscious.

It's strange, I find, how the strongest, most sturdiest people you meet always have deep, psychological scars that run through their hard shell. When I was little, about four or so, I would just gaze at the screen and find Aurora, Snow White and all the other princesses to be just...perfect. No problems, no issues, though they didn't do shit during the movie besides wait around for the prince. And the princes, my lord, always were the strongest of them all and the _perfect_ ones to save the girl. Everything was just hunky-dory, wasn't it then? You know, when I was four.

At the same time, or when the illuminated pictures didn't stamp themselves in my soft, new skull of mine, my dad always stood strong. He's always been a bigger man. Not overweight, mind you, but definitely not one to wear skinny jeans. Anyway, that's beside the point, isn't it? He, too, carved his own image in my mind. His cheerful smile and hearty laughter had always warmed the whole family. It was _perfect_ then; there were no cracks in the mirrors or shatters of masks.

Though, things did change when I began to file into buses and seat myself in classrooms. Now, it was subtle, but enough to catch my small span of attention as a child. Kids could be jerks and teachers strict. It wasn't like a fairy tale or just a small girl's wide appreciation for the man who called himself 'her father.' Though, as always, I smiled and gave a cheery voice just as the princesses had. Now, I make it sound as though I didn't understand that the whole situation Snow White and the others weren't perfect, because I did, though the characters were. No wrinkles on their skin, just a smooth, animated color. No sweat and grime on their hands after working on various chores, just clean, cartoon-hands.

Middle school came and went, nothing much to really say other than my eyes had crept open from their 'rose-colored glasses faze,' though not all the way. Girls gossiped to diminish any competition while boys pushed and shoved to dictate their own authority as 'men.' The sky still was a bright blue and the sun was still up even on rainy days. I didn't understand why the girl in the corner scowled at her luck with black _everything_ as clothing or why the boy hiding in the bathroom refused to believe that the 8th grader on the field was 'just being rough.' I just couldn't comprehend any of that as I sat with a loving family in a beautiful house, the princesses subconsciously cleaning the negative thoughts away, not allowing them through.

And high school was the same way, well...my first one anyway. I kept quiet and cheerful with the few, generous friends I had and the then-boyfriend by my side. After a few months, sure I dumped him but, well, I figured we would be fine and just friends. I had explained to him that it didn't feel quite right, I knew that much, and he merely smiled, bowed his head, and muttered about seeing me tomorrow. We did, but we didn't talk after that. Well, until Cat went and dated him, then I...well, yeah. It was a mess just like a cake pieces scattered all over the floor at my feet, my mom gasping as of why I had decided to take a little taste of my birthday cake. They were one and the same; just situations that could have ended better as my mirror's reflection showed smooth skin and clean hands alike Cinderella.

However, by that time I knew I was kidding myself. The cake was my stubborn, rash act to just have at it with the chocolate and that whole cheese-fountain, kissing then punched nose thing was, well, a fucking mess.

By that time, I had begun to understand the reality of the world. Well, no. Not at that point. Not yet...

Though it's safe to say that I got the message that not everyday was sun-shine and rainbows once I felt the hot, endless drink run down my hair. It was the first day I had decided that I should quit...and, in all honesty, I almost did leave Hollywood Arts the first day if it weren't for Andre, Cat or Robbie. The next day, I felt the cold, unbroken stare sink searing holes at my shoulders once I had strolled into class. I had hesitantly, I remember, looked back at those pale, bitter eyes of a blue ocean that danced in green.

Truth be told, the first time I had ever caught a glimpse of her - of Jade even - was when she was alone, at her locker. Trina had wanted to drive to school early just to have me out of her sight in case I made a fool of myself. Not exactly what happened as Jade made a fool of me, though that's a tad beside the point. She had to walk in with me beside her anyhow; there was an accident on one of the red lights. Though, when I saw her at her locker, my eyebrow raised at the tens of scissors impaled through the metal, or black sheet; I couldn't tell from my own eyes with the many heads bobbing around.

Her presence was known throughout, people shuffling away as eyes lingered. She was beautiful, no denying that, but something was off. Her skin was as smooth as marble while her hands clean and yet when those eyes first landed on me, surveying with an unimpressed glare, my breath hitched. There was _something off_ indeed. Her eyes didn't land on me like an unknowing bystander but rather an observing cat about to pounce on its prey. At the time, that was how I read it. It was just...bitter loathing.

Skipping a few weeks and there was her throwing me to detention over a 'black eye.' My nerves had already spiked from the time she had laid eyes on me that morning, as it always had during our routine, though I kept at it. I just kept flashing her a smile even though her cat eyes narrowed distastefully, becoming more like slits each time. It was almost inhuman, really. Not what they were in Disney's classics. They weren't just colored dots with lashes around, they were endless. They had cracks while Snow White's hazel eyes were symmetrical and perfect. Not that Jade's weren't, but at that time I had been startled by their perplexity.

I had taken a polaroid photo of her, and all I saw was a pale witch in a dark, teen's clothing. She was the opposite of what I had grown accustomed to as a four year old, and what I had plastered onto my back, attempting to stitch it to my skin, through middle school. She, as I then stood, was just a bad omen. Though I still took my chances for reasons beyond me.

But then, with a heavy knock on our door, that picture - how to say - shifted. I had just actually began to think about how we had finally agreed on something, even if I really didn't want anything to do with Beck and Jade's business.

My eyes glaze over the red letters, which looks to have changed, over to the bookshelf. Many books cluttered the different boards while many other various items were placed among them. My eyes wonder over to a small glass case with a butterfly, its wing broken. I found it strange, from the start, how that was the only glass case in here. Keeping my eyes on it nevertheless, I furrow my brows, training my thoughts on that night with the knocking door.

 _She strode in, ignoring my surprised gestures of welcome. She turned at her heels, mascara running down her cheeks as her witch-mask melted. "This kite is broken," she whimpered, the kite rattling in her fists._

 _"Okay...and?" I shut the door, tilting my head to the side._

 _As her steps swayed her body, almost wishing to pace around, her voice wavered, "I was just walking around and I saw this kite stuck in a bush and-and it's broken and someone needs to fix it!"_

 _"You," I started, "want me to fix your kite?" It hadn't looked all that bad, it only had a broken twig and a torn piece of fabric. Though, as it was held limply in its state, it looked utterly pitiful._

 _"Would you forget about the stupid kite!" Jade snapped, chucking the thing behind the bed._

 _As she lead her steps frantically about, her hands shaking I sighed, knowing she would want to coax me somehow. "I'm sorry I brought it up?" I muttered._

 _"I want Beck back!" she sobbed into her hands._

 _"But you broke up with Beck..." I mumbled slowly, seating myself beside her. She hadn't moved away to my - I suppose -_ pleasant _surprise._

 _"I know," she cried, "Just like when I was seven and I threw away my Potato Patch Pal... but then I realized I wanted it back but it was too late because my mother gave it away to some_ greedy _orphans!"_

And once she had left, the kite still lay behind the couch, my eyes lingering on the now black-stained pillow.

 _"Honey? Why is that kite there?"_

 _Her voice spooked me before I twisted around, gazing down at the kite. "Oh, Jade brought it over to fix it but- uh...I don't think that'll happen quite yet."_

 _"You mean ever?" my mom muttered, "Well, why don't you throw it away. We can't keep junk lying around, you know?" I merely nodded as she jogged up the stairs, my eyes resting on the broken activity. Striding around the couch, I picked up the colorful kite gingerly, walking towards the garage. I opened the door and went into the musty room, cringing at all of the oil - the place hadn't been cleaned for a little while. As I stood in front of the garbage bin, the kite dangling from my firm grasp, a voice in the back of my head continued to nag. It felt wrong, like I shouldn't do it. The garbage bin closed, then the garage door and I darted up the stairs to my room. With that door closed, my eyes spun wildly to my closet, seeking a comfortable space._

At that time, I didn't quite know why I kept it. Possibly for a token, standing as a reminder of what Jade could be, a broken kite or a butterfly with a broken wing. Perhaps as something to fix, a reminder of the reason why Jade came to _me_ of all people.

That was the first time I had halted in my words around her, actually...when we talked thereafter. It was just, don't know. How could some person be greedy themselves and throw away something they don't want and then need it back? Though, as I glanced down at her weak state, it wasn't anything like that. As the week carried on, my wrist being tugged towards the janitor's closet to watching them do their thing and not take me home, my mind constantly - and subconsciously - pieced together what it was; her actions wasn't out of greed but of pure fear. She was holding her favorite pan used to create the best of meals. However, when that pan got too hot for her hand, Jade let go of it, not wanting anything to do with it for the moment. As she looked back at the metal, which had cluttered food about and around, she needed it back to make more...

The polaroid picture I took before was split right in half in a fine line, then put together seamlessly. Though, the picture was distorted. Half of her body was a centimeter higher than the rest. There was no witch glaring back at me, it now didn't seem so intimidating. But what was staring back at me scared me even more on a different level, higher or lower than the last. It was different, imperfect and just... broken, cracked, grimy. I had concluded thereafter that she couldn't possibly be a princess because of that, even if it wasn't visible to the naked eye, or a pair with glasses for the matter.

And so we got along kinda well after that, my mind keeping to the picture. Though, once summer break rolled around, the image of the distortion seeped away to the depths of my mind, becoming shower thoughts that I would push away as I would occasionally think of Jade. After all, everybody else was around my house except her, Beck giving a brief "Mom" as an answer. I didn't quite understand that, how he had hissed her name in a low whisper as if it was out of habit.

I twist around in the sheets, my eyes falling to the ceiling. The fan spins rhythmically, beckoning me to sleep soundlessly. Of course, I don't.

Well as I came back to school, starting my first, full year at Hollywood Arts since the last was only the long, few months before May, I was presented with a new Jade. Now, not a _new_ Jade necessarily, but a new look. It fitted her quite nicely, and it did take a while to get used to but, it was a nice change. However, as I flashed the same smile from before, absolutely ignoring the last few month's progress before the break, her eyes hardened and she flipped me off.

The cycle that wore down on me before had started again with a new year. At the very least, I had thought, no coffee was added to the mix. With the new year, I had to go out once again and relearn the lessons I had grown accustomed to as a sophomore; there were no bright suns, clear skies and colorful rainbows in Jade's world. Not that I had learned that from before. Once again I had broadened her as this witch in a darkened, bitter, scornful world. And, during that year, we did eventually come to an agreement on something, though it didn't exactly feel as casual as it had before - when we shook hands, mentally mind you, the first time. I had simply gotten out of her way to get Beck back to her. She was then just... God I don't know how to put it. A princess? No, I never really imagined that at that point in time but her skin seemed much clearer and hands a lot cleaner. She was still the witch I had come to conclude as what she was, despite my successful efforts the first year.

This just seemed to create a false sense as my mind moved off of the events of sophomore year. She left me alone for the most part, actually, aside from the banters every so often. There were more bright, sunny days and I paid no mind to the troubles of the world. There were problems, sure, but everybody was just _perfect._

And then came senior year. It was just- I don't know... We restarted, kind of branching off from what we had in junior year - you know, the quaint, rocky 'friendship.' The 'friendship' that wasn't consistent or, just, fluid. _Natural_ even. We restarted at senior year, but not really. Now, my words are being a bit twisted and I'll kind of explain but, we just started the year how we left it as sophomores. You see, over the summer, I had actually seen her at one of the fairs that the peer held for the surfers and other beach-aholics.

So I go to the bathroom, as one does after drinking a huge soda, and I find her leaning over the sink. Jade's knuckles were white - almost translucent compared to the rest of her complexion - and her gaze was fixed sternly to the bowls while her feet rocked her back and forth.

 _"Jade? Are you alright?" I asked softly. She jumped hastily, her gaze switching towards me quickly with wide eyes. Jade merely gulped before nodding quickly, bringing her shaking hands to her pocket. "Jade?" I tried again, stepping forward, "Are you fine? You look...pale."_

 _As I mentally slapped myself as of how retarded that statement sounded, as it regarded her skin compared to how it was normally (pale), she husked quietly, "I'm, uh...just taking a breather." She chuckled quietly, her voice scratching as it wavered, gaze dropping to the floor._

 _"In the bathroom?" I grimaced, taking note of the smell, "I'd rather take a breather from this."_

 _"I'm- I'm with my mom alright?" she snapped weakly, "Just give me a moment." There came a distant call soon after, bringing a grumble from her lips. "Never mind," she muttered meekly. Before her steps brushed passed the door, pale eyes locked with mine briefly, sending an odd - though familiar - set of chills down my spine. Once Jade had left, I recalled why I had gone inside the bathroom in the first place and quickly went into one of the stalls._

After the quick minute, I remember going back outside and finding Jade with her brother, as I had caught glimpses of the light, sandy hair before, along with a _tall_ woman who I presumed to be her mother. She didn't look much like her, Jade I mean. Her face, Jade's, was much more hollowed out than her mom. And her mom, who had long, brunette hair, stood about six feet tall. Or I presumed as she strode briefly passed my dad. My brows furrowed for a moment; Jade had almost looked a bit taller in some steps. Had she really grown _that_ much over break? It had been only about a month and a half. _'_ _Maybe more like two,'_ I had reasoned.

Anyway, as I got home that day, I then remembered the kite which sat in the corner of my closet. I brought it out and examined it closer. It would be a quick fix, just stitch up the fabric and piece together the snapped stick and - boom! - there we go. As for the picture which had slowly ventured back into my mind once again after another week or two, I noticed that the eyes held their contorted gaze as they had before...

And so I went back to school with both at my attention. Immediately the nostalgia hit me like a boulder once I had set foot out in the main hall. It was almost like the last year with Jade was a summer break on its own, even if we had advanced with a friendship, however uncoordinated it was. We were back in the main groove, to say, ready to actually push forward on a more personal level. Now I didn't see what I had saw before; a witch from the small hut out to attack the princess. No, and I still didn't see her as a princess with her dainty, quaint smile, by the way. I just saw her as... I don't know. She, once again, scared me. She didn't fit the mold I had attempted to press her into the first year, which had allowed me to leave out the sarcastic, morbid jokes she had snapped at me the following year. Nor did she fit the mold that I had attempted to fit her into the second year of knowing her, and _that_ allowed me to leave out what I had already accomplished the previous year.

So, with that in mind, I began to seek out with the pestering curiosity that had drove her up the wall in the beginning. I _needed_ to know what caused her to just be so... Jade-like. She wasn't a bully, no, and I don't think she ever was or will be. But, at the same time, the front she took was far from sweet and loving. I needed to know why that was, and why she had exposed herself purposefully and intentionally to me, of all people. _"Because you're not cool enough so you can see me like this..."_ bull-shit. Well, maybe. I knew from the beginning - since she had brought me that kite - that she was insecure, not wanting to be harmed by anybody close to her. So, as I progressed through senior year, I concluded that the reason that I became closer to her in a different way was that I wasn't. She allowed me in because I wasn't close but that made me close to her. It's an irrational way of thinking but, as I learned quickly during that time while researching for colleges, Jade's way of thinking _is_ irrational or it stemmed from an irrational time when she was young.

But here's the thing... Only three words pressed themselves against my skull during December while taking finals; I don't know. Now, it wasn't because she didn't tell me, and while she didn't directly, Jade did. Though, there wasn't enough for me to confirm my suspicions.

For those wondering - as I kind of take a step back and just realize I breezed right through half of senior year without much detail - I became obsessed with her. That- that doesn't sound very good. It sounded better in my mind...even though I'm saying this within my mind... Anyway, I became obsessed with her. I just _couldn't stop_. I began to just blank out during lunches staring at her, trying to figure her out as I had beforehand with the knowledge that this was possibly the final year, the final chance of figuring this out. I began to reject guys who said that they've been waiting to gather up the courage because - hell - I needed more time locked up in my room trying to piece together Jade's home life. I began to even pass on our family outings just so I could look at the damn kite! God that fucking, outdoor activity with the freaking- _fuck_.

Every-single-time I had looked at that damn, fucking kite something else was wrong. There was more to it. There were cracks that ran up and along the rods, there were more tears and holes that would interfere with the original's stitching - which I hadn't gotten to yet - and the strings were half gone. There wasn't even a god-damned handle for crying out loud. There was more to fix with this kite! There was more to it, to _her_ than I had first thought. I had just pressed her into Disney's mold and she didn't fit. She couldn't fit no matter how hard I tried. She had a million more angles that I felt my heart beat faster with each one. My eyes wondered all over, trying to follow the many cracks in her shell that protected her, searching for the original, first scar... I couldn't, so I began to take off my rose-colored glasses that winter break.

Why had my world become so dark during my quest to just find what Jade was? What was I doing wrong during our more constant and progressive outings? How could my world spin more out of control each and every day when I thought of her pale, cold eyes flicking about me as I had done with her, trying to just find a damn foothold to know her? Where was it, where could I find that piece to know her? And why? Why did my life during that time become just so, just- so much like a storm over one person? The very same person I had learned to _hate_ as that witch before then? How could my views just be so distorted around her?

I just- fuck it.

Disney, what the hell? Why the fuck did you teach me to see everyone in a perfect mold? Why could you have prepared me for her? Jade's- she was not from your tales. She was not one of the princesses you had taught other children like me to handle. She's no witch. She's no evil step-mother. She's a god-damn princess that was left with the Brother's Grimm; her image is distorted and constantly changing as the polaroid picture in my head had.

As each passing day went by, I had found myself marveling over her. In my haste to figure her out by the end of senior year, in the mist of my obsession with her, I had created an almost sickening, uncontrollable desire for her. The world around me crashed but I didn't mind, somehow. There weren't any rainbows but I finally saw the stars in the dark night as opposed to the bright sky. I didn't see the bright, crisp grass of a cookie cutter home but the long, strands of lush green in front of a Victorian manor. I, somehow through Jade, found the other side of the world that I couldn't see as that small child in front of Disney's classics on the screen. I just saw the grim nature of the world. It wasn't evil but it wasn't nice. It was just the world. It went by its laws and it went with what was right in what situation, no matter of how many people would say otherwise.

It was just... And during that time, as I found a new way of seeing things, there was still a storm in my head. Fucking hell. These new things only added to it when I wanted the raging seas to stop! _'Let me just know her!'_ my thoughts constantly raged as I glanced quickly off to the side as she sipped on her coffee.

There was just no change.

None whatsoever.

Zero.

Ninguno.

Well...until January that is. As always, Jade had taken up the chance to demonstrate her talents through writing a play. For a string of shows wanted for an event, I didn't care enough to listen to what it was, Jade had entered her play and it was accepted, much to her - and my - pleasure. Everything was going smoothly in reality, as I was practically drowning in my sporadic thoughts, when the students started buzzing with their gossip.

As Jade and Beck strolled into the main hall holding hands and chatting about their night at the movies before, the rest of the students were perplexed about the unannounced, quiet breakup. It was literally one hour, TheSlap had said that they were dating and the next, _poof_ , single. I had tilted my head to the side before eyes lingered over me, flicking across my body with this small, yet impactful, snarky but just devious smirk. My heart, while my skull felt like it would implode with the furious clouds clashing against it, was belly dancing around a pole, screaming through its fiesta.

A small grin stretches across my lips, my eyes closing momentarily. The fan still spins softly in my ears, the soft rustling of sheets snapping me from what I want to be a doze. It isn't, of course, but I really do need to sleep. Once again my eyes blink open, following the blades.

A week or two had gone by, everything just progressing smoothly as the group continuously enjoyed each other's company, and the storm in my head still raged. The kite became foreboding in my mind with my hands fiddling with it. I didn't know where to start, or if I could for the matter. There was just so much to do and nothing at once... Should I wait for an opportunity or just go up and fix it? As my thoughts busied myself one day, a few before the play, I felt a cold hand grasp itself around my wrist, tugging me towards the janitor's closet. I stumbled in, my eyes widening as I found Jade pacing back and forth - or how much she could with the space - with her hands holding her shoulders.

 _"Uh...good evening? Class is going to start in a few," I muttered, thoroughly confused. I tilted my head to the side, wondering as of why I had been brought in her when pale, fearful eyes flickered towards me._

 _"My mom...she's coming to the play," her voice stammered lightly._

 _I took a moment to digest the words, eyes flicking between her expecting ones before I slowly mumble, "So, you want the play to be perfect?"_

 _"Yes- no...I-I don't want her to be there," Jade hissed. "She's not supposed to- I can't. I don't want her near- she has to... I-I- Help me Vega!" Her hands gripped my shoulders in tight hold, her pale eyes piercing through me._

 _"I- What do we have to do? Wait, why me?"_

 _"You helped me with my dad so you can help me with my mom," she growled, disappointed in me for not getting the most obvious thing in the world. "Look," her hands unlatch themselves, "I just- I just need everything to be perfect and for you to be there. Got it? Don't- don't go questioning it and don't fucking say a god-damn word to her. You hear me?"_

 _I nodded quickly before adding quietly, "Why?"_

 _"I just said don't question it!" Jade snapped, her grueling voice reminding me why she wasn't my favorite person before hand and yet, oddly, pleasing me (don't ask). "We'll be late to class," she murmured, tearing herself from the closet as I was left to follow her to Sikowitz._

Long story short, the play was a similar experience to that with her father. Now, ever since I had helped her with that in our sophomore year, her dad had attended Jade's performances that she hosted. Whether or not he actually spoke about it to her or even showed himself to her is a different story. Jade continuously checked the audience and dove back into the curtains while I blindly followed like a lost puppy. If I had thought she paced before, it was nothing like how she swam back and forth like a predatory white shark then. I couldn't keep up with her longer strides, even if I had grown some to what her height had breached the summer before.

And when she didn't pace, Jade constantly clutched me like I was some stuffed bunny when she fell asleep during the darkest of nights. Her foot tapped and she just needed something sturdy beside her, something to anchor her almost, even though I was going through life in the rockiest of boats like her.

When her mom did come into the theatre, we had shifted to the other side of the stage as she had seated herself near the exit. Within minutes, the play had started and we spent it alone in the dressing rooms, Jade tearing through a whole stack of magazines with her fine blades. After finding out the play still had twenty minutes left, Jade had barked with her eyes glassy to bring her another stack. I couldn't help but hold my tongue and give her another fifty or so magazines of boy bands and teen drama.

That night, with Jade's soft, quiet voice speaking to her mother in the front of my mind, I sat down with the kite. I would have to replace everything, though I had decided to keep the parts that _were_ indeed intact. With a few clicks of a mouse and a few pages flicked through an illuminated screen, I had went under the covers, thinking about the box that arrived as planned the few days afterwards.

After that night, I had finally felt the storm cease with its rampaging bolts of lightening and claps of thunder. I had finally understood and found the oldest scar that Jade had acquired. She had told me during our time alone in the dressing rooms her first, clearest memories after I shared my own. I had said my family going out on a camping trip, playing with dolls and Trina then just laughing at a picture on the fridge. Small, stupid memories but it was _perfect_. For Jade, it was her first view of the Los Angeles skyline; when her father had taken both Jade and her brother, Jared, to a friend's house to live with him and away from her mother. It seemed small at first but, really, its significant.

I had told her why I loved to sing, and it was because of my mom. She bought me this cheap, plastic microphone after catching me singing in the mirror with bunny ears on and I ended up playing with it every day, fueled by her laughter. Jade's mother, too, did end up having developed her imagination that she would have to write. Whenever Jade would get in trouble, or when it was nap time, she would send the young girl to her room for hours at a time. She played with various items such as hammers and stuffed toys while entertaining herself in her own world. Jade also added, in a grim scowl, that her father had once come home really late one night and found Jade whispering for him to come into her room. He had sat down and began to talk a bit with his daughter when they were caught by her mom. They had both gotten in trouble as she was in time-out; she had been in said time-out for ten hours...

My gaze softened before we had to leave as the audience's roar announced the end of the play.

The weeks thereafter were quiet, calm and satisfying. Jade would always be around me, not on a stalkish level but enough to let me know that she was there. We went on with our classes, our thoughts hesitantly veering towards the end of the year that would come soon. Valentine's day came and, as always, Cat had been a nice way to distract everybody from their sour days. It was a busy day, actually. Everybody shuffled around to give their crushes whatever flowers or candies they had bought. As for me, I got cold feet at the last minute. I wanted things to remain how they were - calm, quiet and just nice - but I also wanted more. So, since I knew I would do something stupid, I backed out. There would be more opportunities is about what my thoughts came up with.

During our last period, in calculus, we were handed roses that the school had offered in efforts to get more money. So the majority had gotten flowers from those who paid for it, too embarrassed to go right up to the people themselves. Well, in Beck's case, it was more of a nuisance than anything, especially with his new girlfriend - who Jade had oddly, though subtly, accepted. Well, as I soon had spotted, Jade had also received roses.

She remained stock still with her hands shaking, eyes focused on the note dropped from her lacking grip. Frowning, I crossed the room as the neighbors nearby her noticed, complimenting on her amount of admirers.

 _"She's not supposed to be in contact with the school," she whimpered softly as I had gotten close enough, eyes falling on the note. Nobody else had heard besides me, though one set of steps had ventured towards her._

 _"Oh look, it's from your mom," he chuckled mockingly as Jade staggered back from his hand which held the card, growing nearer towards her. As she slipped, my hands quickly catching her, Beck had stood up, glaring at the other. He merely shook his head as I snatched the note from his hands, tearing it apart before chucking the flowers in the trash. My gaze briefly flickered up at the teacher, who nodded, allowing me to take Jade out of class._

After that, Jade had gone home with my promise to text her the homework later on. When I did, I didn't receive an answer, though I merely brushed it off as I flicked through the channels on the television. My mind constantly played back to her fearful eyes which had pierced through the note with venom. Time passed by quickly as the shows presented themselves, my mind at ease with the amount of work that I had done before hand.

Though, as my mom had just dove into the garage to put away so grocery bags, heavy banging sounded at the door. Pausing the show quickly, I felt a pang in my gut before I opened the door.

 _My eyes widened as she staggered in, her eyes darting around with a crooked, soft smirk playing her lips. "He-ey... I kind of want to stay here so, can I?"_

 _I pursed my lips pitifully at the flash of white teeth, her voice slurred and stammered. "Jade," I whined, "Have you? Have you been drinking?"_

 _"It's the only thing to forget about that witch," Jade sneered, her steps stumbling to the kitchen. "Do you have water?"_

 _"Maybe- Wait, Jade," I shut the front door before my steps followed her, "Maybe I should get that." I grimaced as a glass shattered against the tile floor, pale eyes glowering towards it. As she swayed at her feet, my steps scampering towards her, my thoughts already processing what she had wanted to do. With a quick step, she twisted violently, my teeth clenching. "No-_ Jade! _" I snapped, my eyes falling towards her dazed glare.  
_

 _"Fucking hell," she hissed, my knees meeting the ground hesitantly, my eyes darting to the many glass shards around. Ignoring the several, stabbing pains coming into my skin, I hold her forearm, cringing at the multiple shards sliced through._

 _"Damn it Jade," I cooed, my eyes flicking up towards the gasp at the garage door._

 _"My god," my mom cursed, Jade twisting around._

 _"Oh hi Mrs. Vega," she greeted, "I'ma gonna spend the night wi-ith, uh... Tori. Yeah."_

 _Shaking her head solemnly as we both hoisted the teen up, she mumbled, "Get her in your bathroom and- god Tori, you have them all over your-"_

 _"I'm fine," I cut across, "I'll just go in and get Jade all sorted."_

 _"And you missy," she ordered, "I'll clean this up." Obliging to my mother's wishes, we both make our way up the stairs - which took longer once Jade had wanted to look outside the large windows at the random bat. Once in the bathroom, I was able to clean our wounds, which was easy as Jade had managed to get away only with the bigger shards and me, well, I was wearing jeans; there were only a few that went through. After I had argued with Jade over putting bandages on her arms to avoid her picking at the scabs, we had eventually agreed that she would only have the Band-Aids with the purple stars and_ not _with the happy clouds. That argument lasted for a good ten minutes and only ended when my mom came in and offered cranberry juice for the morning. Well, we were in my bedroom on my bed. I merely sat watching her with twiddling thumbs while she sipped on her juice._

 _After she set the empty plastic cup on my nightstand, which had fallen to the ground while pale eyes blankly followed it, Jade rested her head on my pillows. "Hey, why are you here?" I asked, scooting over to switch off one of the lamps on the side._

 _With half of her face bathed in a nice, yellow light, she muttered, "She called. She called and fucking asked me if I liked my flowers. I lied, of course..." Once she let out a long sigh, I put my hand on her forearm, pale eyes flicking towards me. "Then she was going on and on about how I'll spend the summer with her but - fucking hell - I won't. I don't want to. I don't want to go down to Arizona into Prescott, or where ever the fuck she is, and be anywhere near her and her damn dogs, no matter how cute they are."_

 _"So, why are you here?" I asked softly, my hand finding her cheek._

 _Jade nuzzled into it, her cold grasp around my wrist before she muttered, "I- I wanted you...because you helped before and you're very helpful and, and...uh your bed's nice." We both chuckled as she grinned toothily, our gazes locking. "And, I- er, might like you?"_

 _"Oh," I hummed, "By how much?" Her brows furrowed as she sought for an answer, my head shaking. "You don't have to answer," I whispered softly as I leaned in, our lips connecting. I felt her hand run through my hair urging for more as I tasted the alcohol. I tasted some of what she had gone through and, in all honesty, I wanted to take all of it. I wanted to take all of it until she was sober, nothing affecting her but her own thoughts and actions while being anchored by me. I wanted to just be her one thing that she could cling to just to not feel her head spin as the world attacked her. And as I left her to turn to her side, the rest of the soft, yellow light blinking away, I wanted to protect her as I nuzzled into her back._

And its not like I still don't. Her polaroid picture is still disfigured and yet, as I follow the curves of the jutted lines, I can't find anything wrong. It isn't perfect from a symmetrical standpoint though nothing is with human nature. Nothing is with Jade.

My head turns to the side as a smile forms across my lips. My eyes follow her bare back as it disappears under the sheets, her shoulders moving softly with the long breaths. My arms wrap around her, my lips pressing themselves against lukewarm skin while my naked chest blankets her back. She grumbles, frowning slightly as I hum, "Don't wake up, just sleep... I need to anyway." I grin as she settles in, nestling deeper into the pillow before I chuckle.

The warmth I had wanted before had sunk into me now, my legs intertwining with her longer ones, my arms wrapped around her waist while fingers lace with each other. My eyes blink close, momentarily lingering on the splash of color resting against the wall in the dark room. The kite was patched and fixed, ready to fly once again with the strings falling smoothly down to the handle. The yellow winked at the two of us while we sleep, readying ourselves for the end of our high school career and the beginning of the next.

* * *

 _Right, another one done... Whoop! Whoop! And, just a quick thought, is Jade the only character who has cried during this series (emotionally and not acting)? If so, that's a tad bit ironic. As with Disney, I don't have anything against him. Although, I will say, I grew up with Tim Burton's tales over the classic Disney princesses aside from a few. Still hoping to actually see Aladin to its entirety and some others...been waiting for a decade now. XD_

 _As for Jade's whole situation with her mother, how do I say this? So, uh...other than tiny tweaks to kind of fit with Jade (and I mean tiny) they are my memories... Yup. All I can say was that I was never a happy child but never a sad one. Thanks dad for not being like Jade's. :3 Well, just thought I should throw that out there, give you another piece of me as I write. I'll just say this one thing; don't apologize, I just wanted to tell you just because. :) In all honesty, its just what happened to me and part of why I am what I am. Luckily my situation isn't exactly like Jade's, I will say that._

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. It's longer than expected but whatever._

 _:)_


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